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From: breuel@harvard.ARPA (Thomas M. Breuel)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: MacIntosh XL anti-distortion board
Message-ID: <333@harvard.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 27-Jan-85 02:17:20 EST
Article-I.D.: harvard.333
Posted: Sun Jan 27 02:17:20 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 30-Jan-85 06:37:40 EST
References: <654@aluxe.UUCP> <209@gcc-opus.ARPA>
Distribution: net
Organization: Harvard University
Lines: 48

> [gcc-opus!brad:]
> Yes, well, um, Let's not forget that dear old lisa runs at 5mhz with one wait
> state due to MMU delay and has here sweet little 'ol screen mapped at a
> different address than Mac. Not to mention the screaming speed which can
> be obtained using a 5Meg profile. Also, it's not clear that apple talk will
> work (although it should - via the 6507 controlling the serial port).
>
> Oh yes, and it's sooooo portable.

A few comments on MacIntosh XL (Lisa) vs MacIntosh:

-- The Lisa runs at about the same speed as the MacIntosh -- the CPU
has been speeded up to 8MHz.  

-- The screen is mapped into the same addresses (presumably using the
MMU) as it is on the Mac. Its layout is different,  however, and programs that
access the MacIntosh screen directly won't produce readable output.

-- The 5MByte ProFile does not exist anymore, and the 10MByte internal
drive is a lot faster.  Other manufacturers (Sunol, Corvus) offer fast
hard-disks for the Lisa.

-- I don't see why Apple's CheapNet should not run with the Lisa
serial ports. Even if it does not, the Lisa has three hardware
expansion slots (plus a memory expansion slot), which could be used for
any kind of interface card, in particular a CheapNet card. Other
intefaces are also imaginable (ethernet?).

-- The Lisa main memory can be expanded to 1MByte, as opposed to
0.5MByte on the MacIntosh.

-- The Lisa is capable of running UN*X because of its MMU. The
(current) MacIntosh will never be able to run full UN*X.

-- The Lisa screen is a lot larger than the MacIntosh screen. Because
of its higher resolutiion, one can work with more windows at the same
time.

-- I have been using MacIntosh software on the Lisa for 1/2 year now,
and almost all MacIntosh programs run on the Lisa. The only exceptions
are 'Copy II Mac', which cannot find the disk controller, a game,
which died because of a bug in the MacWorks sound driver, and 'Life',
which accesses the screen directly. MacIntosh software performs very
well on a Lisa because of the larger screen and the larger memory.

Altogether, the Lisa 2 is a significantly better machine than the
MacIntosh unless (physical) portability is your primary concern.
If you have a choice, by all means, buy a Lisa.